Wateringhuis is an information centre on the edge of De Watering nature reserve. The area was once a dry moorland landscape, but a unique irrigation system transformed it into a bird and plant paradise. More than half of the plants here are found nowhere else in Belgium. Come and find out all about them at Wateringhuis.
Lommel-Kolonie is home to a valuable system of grasslands, with supply channels and drainage trenches. It has been there for 150 years and is a unique remnant of a major irrigation project undertaken by the Belgian government. Once upon a time, the plan was to convert the acidic and dry heathland into high-yielding hay meadows and then to sell off the land. But the business proved unprofitable. ‘Witteren’ (watering) has been a household word in Lommel ever since. Volunteers from Natuurpunt help preserve the tradition and have been maintaining large parts of the water meadows in the original, manual way for about forty years. This old agricultural technique even claimed a place on the Flemish Inventory of Intangible Heritage in 2019.
Info
Oude Maai 80, 3920 Lommel
Contact Natuurpunt for Wateringhuis and guided walks:
Kris Schurmans
Accessibility
Wateringhuis can be reached during the week using the on-call belbus. Only a limited part of De Watering nature reserve is accessible to the public (between hiking nodes 62 and 63).
Wateringhuis is wheelchair and pushchair friendly.
Opening hours
Wateringhuis is open from 14.00 – 18.00 every Sunday from June to September, and every first Sunday of the month from October to May. You can also visit by appointment (request 2 weeks in advance).
